Anniversary
by Carla
Summary: During Sandy and Kirsten's anniversary, they spent some quality time together and remember some important moments of their life at the beginnings of their relationship.
1. Default Chapter

Anniversary

By Carla

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Fox does.

Chapter I

"Dad!!!" Seth Cohen moaned as he felt the blankets been pulled form his body, trying to retain some of the heat.

"Get up, Seth! And get out!" Sandy said as he started pulling his son from the bed.

"But it's a big mansion!"

"Not big enough, kiddo… come on, you know you don't want to stay… there's going to be kissing and cuddling and innuendo that will be involving your mother, by the way, not to mention…"

"Okay! Okay! I'm up!" Seth said jumping to his feet, "If this is what I can look forward to all day, I'm going to Summer's for the day."

"That's a boy… say hello to Summer for me."

"Yeah, yeah… just… please, stay away from mom while I take breakfast."

"Oh, you know I can't promise you that! I mean, your mom…"

"Shut up! Shut up! Please shut up!" Seth screamed as he ran down the stairs. Sandy was left smiling in his son's room.

"I love this day." He commented to himself.

_"Hi there baby boy." Kirsten cooed as she approached the cradle next to her bed, "Are you up already, Seth?" she smiled as she picked up the baby, who was about to start crying, "It's okay honey, please don't cry… you already gave mommy a headache last night… I'll get your diaper now but please, please, don't cry."_

_"You do realize he probably didn't understand a single word you just said and is going to cry sooner or later." Sandy laughed from the doorframe._

_"Worth a shot… and don't give him ideas." Seth was starting to squirm in her arms._

_"Want some help?"_

_"Always. Here, change your son's diaper." Kirsten said as she handed unceremoniously the baby to Sandy and threw herself in the bed "I can't keep up with him anymore…" she said, closing her eyes as Sandy put the baby in their bed to proceed to change him._

_"He sure is a handful." Sandy commented, making a face as he retrieved Seth's dirty diaper and replaced it with a clean one, "Still worth it, though." He smiled as Kirsten opened her eyes and reached to caress Seth's cheek._

_"Of course he is." She said heartily, "He looks so much like you." She commented._

_"But a whole lot cuter… that he's got to take from you." He smiled as she gave him a small laugh._

_"I love him… and I love you… but I'm spent… and right now I'm just taking care of him, when I go back to college I don't think I'm going to have the energy, Sandy."_

_"Hey, hey…" Sandy laid by Kirsten's side, cradling her with one arm while he laid Seth between them, "You'll take it slow, I'll be around more to share in the joy of parenthood, he'll be older and need less attention, we'll get by."_

_"I know we will." She smiled at him. Seth was reaching his hand and Kirsten placed her finger in his small hand._

_"You know, honey…" Sandy said, pulling a golden lock of hair behind her ear, "this isn't how I imagined our first anniversary…" that got her attention, as she looked him in the eye, "I figured it would involve champagne, dancing somewhere fancy after a candlelight dinner… all that romantic stuff. Babysitting our two-month-old son somehow never crossed my mind." Kirsten laughed._

_"Mine neither… but I kinda like it…" she looked back at Seth, "I wouldn't change it for the world."_

_"Neither would I." Sandy leaned forward and kissed his wife's lips gently, making sure neither of them was putting their weight on the baby. Still, Seth started to whimper between them. They broke the kiss, grinning, "I don't think he likes it when we kiss." He commented._

_"He'll grow out of it." She answered, kissing Sandy again._

_"Happy anniversary, gorgeous." He smiled._

_"Happy anniversary."_

"Why… why, oh, why… every single teenager complains about their parents been, like, fighting all the time… or having affairs or something, ignoring each other, that would be good… but me? Not such luck! I tell you Ryan, all my life, these two are going at it like teenagers… ow… ew… anyway, there's a reason I learned to always knock before entering a room at age four, man."

Ryan just listened to Seth's rant, that was just the way Seth was. He couldn't say he didn't understand his brother, in his short time with the Cohens, he had too learned to always, and that was ALWAYS, knock on any closed door whenever Sandy and Kirsten were in the house. Although he didn't particularly enjoyed the show, he knew from experience, unlike Seth, what it was like to have your parents fighting all the time, even sometimes physically. Ryan would rather be disgusted at the notion of opening a door to find Sandy taking off Kirsten's blouse than opening a door to find his dad hitting his mom. But Seth couldn't see that, because his dad hitting his mom was never a part of his universe. He was a lucky kid, and now so was Ryan.

Still, today, Ryan was more inclined to see things Seth's way, considering Kirsten had entered the pool house, called his name quite loudly and dragged him to the kitchen to have breakfast.

"Come on, Seth, that's not true!" Kirsten laughed at Seth's words. Ryan noticed she was already dressed and so was Sandy.

They were also particularly happy.

Grinning like idiots, actually.

"Come on mom, you know it is! It was a really smaller house in Berkeley and a whole lot younger pair of over hormonal parents… you do the math."

"We did our best, kiddo." Sandy laughed. Kirsten was trying to safe face, but he knew Seth was right. He could remember crystal clear the incident his son was making reference to. The poor kid had woken up past his bedtime and came down to the kitchen to have a glass of water only to find them on the table… as Seth said, they were a lot younger and irresponsible then. What Seth seemed to have blocked out of the story is the fact that he indeed asked what they were doing and Sandy had told him some bizarre story about their clothes been dirty, so they were washing them. Luckily, Seth hadn't asked them why they didn't got more clothes from their room or what was doing daddy on top of mommy and only said "Okay.", took a glass of water and went back to his room after wishing his parents a good night. Sandy was embarrassed, yet found the situation kind of humorous, but Kirsten was mortified and forbade any sex out of their room when Seth was in the house.

"Yeah, well, not good enough, father."

"Okay, we're sorry for the deep scars to your psyche, Seth, now have breakfast, get dressed and get out."

"I love you too, mom." Seth answered jokingly.

"Why do we have to leave?" Ryan asked, since no one was really offering him an explanation.

"Oh, don't you know man? This is THE day, D-Day, so trust me, we WANT to leave this house."

"Still not getting it." Ryan answered to Seth's rambling.

"Sweetie," he heard Kirsten calling him. He turned to her. Usually, he found her presence soothing; today she was the mean lady that awoke him on a Saturday morning "what Seth is trying to say is that today is our wedding anniversary." She took Sandy's hand as she spoke, and he was gazing adoringly upon her.

"Yeah, eighteen years ago a made a decent woman out of her."

"Ha ha. Anyway, that's what's going on Ryan."

"Oh… I didn't know… um… congratulations, you guys." Ryan stuttered, not quite sure what to say on these situations.

"Thanks, son." Sandy answered, "And considering it's our special day and we go out so much, we like to spend the day here, at home, just hanging out… together."

"Riiiight…" Ryan was all of the sudden understanding why Seth was in such a hurry to leave, he had quite an idea of what that 'hanging out' implied. It seemed like a good day to spend with Marissa.

"So, they feel the utmost need to kick their sons out of their own home and throw them into the cold, cold world." Seth interrupted.

"Right, thanks for understanding boys." Sandy took Kirsten's hand and guided her to the living room "You have an hour before we start making out." The last thing Sandy and Kirsten heard were their boys struggling to finish off their breakfast before running to their rooms to get dressed.

_"… and it's with great pride that now we take our first steps into the world. It's been an honor to study with the most amazing students, the greatest friends, the best professors and the most wonderful college, Berkeley." Immediate clapping followed as Sandy Cohen made his way back to his chair. He had been the class valedictorian; he had the best grades in Berkeley law school and already had an internship in the DA's office. Not bad for a Jew guy from the Bronx._

_His whole family was there to see him graduate: his mother, although she highly disliked Berkeley, California in general, actually. Along came his brother Michael, with his wife Sarah and their kids, and his sister Maggie and her kids. And as happy as he was too have his family there, it was another person who was foremost in his mind._

_His girlfriend, Kirsten Nichol, was clapping excitedly and beaming with pride over him. Sandy searched for her eyes in the room and when they met he couldn't help the smile that crept to his face._

_This was the most important day of his life, this was the day he had worked for all of his life. He was someone, he was a lawyer, no one thought he could do it, but he did it, he proved them wrong. It was a big day. And something in his gut told him it wouldn't mean a thing if the beautiful blonde-haired art history student who currently lived with him in the back of a mail truck wasn't by his side._

_This was the most important day of his life, and the reason was in his pocket._

_He saw her smile and knew he was doing the right thing, that this was what he had dreamed of all of his life. He was no longer listening to the Dean making his speech; he was no longer concerned with his mother's disapproval. Nothing mattered anymore, except for the engagement ring in his pocket._

_He was scared, terrified. He had the scenario played out on his mind. It had to be today. Today, he was starting the rest of his life. Today, he was building a career, becoming an actual grown-up, meeting his future. And he didn't want to do it alone. Today, the first day of the rest of his life, he would ask Kirsten Nichol to marry him, and he knew she would say yes. Because she cared for him, she supported him; she was there when he needed her, even if he was too proud to ask. Because she put up with his long hours at work, with his inability to give her the things she was used to, and she accepted her father disapproval over their relationship, although he knew it hurt her. Because when he held her in his arms he felt everything in the world was right and when she told him she loved him, he believed her. She was hardened, been raised by Caleb Nichol would do that to you, she didn't trust a lot of people, she didn't open her heart that often, but she was open with him, she was almost fragile with him and shared her soul. They were in love, and he didn't want to start a new life without her._

_"Sandy, baby…" he heard a soft voice and felt a gentle squeeze on his arm. He hadn't notice the ceremony had ended. He turned to see Kirsten's smiling face._

_"Hey, honey." He embraced her and kissed her fully on the lips._

_"Congratulations." She said when they parted, "Your speech was great! I'm so proud of you, lawyer-man…! I knew you'll do it, I just knew it! I love you so much!" she threw herself in his arms again. Sandy had to smile, Kirsten was never this expressive or overexcited; she had to be deliriously happy to act this way._

_"I love you too… so much." He caressed her cheek while she looked at him adoringly._

_"You know, I could stay like this forever."_

_"Me too."_

_"Sadly, that's not an option. Your mother wants you back at home so we can have an overly large dinner on your honor…"_

_"Oh…" he moaned. He really would rather it be him and Kirsten alone for a while._

_"Come on, Sandy… you don't want her to miss on criticizing the way we live, in a truck mind you, the fact that this is California and what IS with the sun, anyway? And of course, what were you thinking with that Barbie-doll of a girlfriend who can't even make you soup for her life! Would you deprive your poor mother of that?" Sandy had to laugh at Kirsten's quite accurate rendition of his mother._

_"Oh, honey… come on, let's go. But after dinner, you are all mine."_

_"Count on it, lawyer."_


	2. Chapter 2

Anniversary

By Carla

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Fox does.

Chapter II

            "Boys are gone!" Sandy smiled happily as he approached the pool. Kirsten was already lying in one of the floaters, sun-bathing. Sandy looked appreciatively at the bikini she was wearing, and for the hundredth time thanked God she was in his life.

"Good." Kirsten answered without opening her eyes "Care you join me?"

Sandy didn't have to be asked twice. He took off his shirt and threw himself into the water, swimming to where his wife was. He took her by the waist and pulled her into the water as she shrieked.

"Sandy!! What are you doing?!" she emerged from the water laughing "You got me all wet."

"We ARE in the pool, sweetie." He laughed.

"You're so annoying!" she splashed him and tried to swim away from him but he caught her by the shoulders and turned her back to him.

"Oh you don't!" he splashed her back. They kept laughing and splashing each other. Suddenly, a ring interrupted them.

"House phone?" Sandy asked.

"No, it's my cell." She gave him a tired look.

"Did I miss something while I was getting the boys out?"

"Dad's calling."

"Grand."

"He wanted me to meet him at the office, big clients or something."

"You've got…" he was losing his temper but he didn't want to put this on her shoulders "What did you tell that a… your father." She gave him a warning look before answering.

"I told him today I was spending the day with my husband because it's our anniversary, so he could try and entertain some Japanese suits on his own."

"Is that all?" Sandy asked knowingly. She looked away for a moment before meeting his eyes again.

"I also told him he may actually know that it was our anniversary if he had shown up at the wedding." He smiled lovingly and kissed her temple, hugging her. Their anniversary was a day both of them loved, but some wounds were always reopened, the family atmosphere hadn't been the best when they got married. And after all these years, Sandy knew that it was particularly difficult for Kirsten to deal with her father in this day. His absence to their wedding still hurt her.

_"Can I come in, princess?" a gentle voice called to her as a smiling face peeked into the room._

_"Of course, mom." Kirsten smiled, trying to dry away her tears without her mother noticing._

_"We're almost ready for the ceremony," Christine Nichol started excitedly "everyone is in position and you have a rather nervous groom waiting for you at the altar! Poor boy, he already asked me like ten times if you haven't changed your mind… and Hailey is so proud, it was really sweet of you to made her a bridesmaid Kirsten, it means the world to her… honey, you look so beautiful in… Kirsten, baby, is everything ok?" Christine asked once she noticed the expression in her daughter's face._

_"Yeah… yeah, of course everything is okay, mom…" Kirsten lied, trying to force one of the fake smiles she perfected after a life in Newport. That's one of the things she loved about Sandy Cohen, she never had to force herself to smile in front of him, and he would love her even if she was unhappy._

_"Kirsten…" Christine said knowingly, reaching out to her daughter's cheek and drying an errant tear._

_"No, mom… I mean it… it's just… an emotional day, you know, I'm getting married an all… I guess is just catching up with me…" Kirsten rose and tried to walk away, but Christine held her by the arm, making Kirsten face her again._

_"Honey…" she was at a lost of what to say and once again cursed the man she loved in her head "I'm so…"_

_"You know what… let's just get this wedding on…"_

_"Kirsten!" Kirsten backed away a little at her mother's stern voice and stared at her for a few seconds. Once again Christine's soft hand went to her cheek… that did it, though, and Kirsten collapsed sobbing into her mother's arms "There honey…" Christine tried to sooth her "It's alright…"_

_"How can it be alright, mom?" Kirsten asked through her tears "How can he do this to me?"_

_"Kirsten…"_

_"No…!" Kirsten pulled away from her mother's embrace, this time her eyes shining with emotion "I'll never forgive him, mom. I hate him. I hate him so much."_

_"Sweetie, he's your father…"_

_"Really? And how come he isn't here? This is my wedding day, mom! Don't you understand? Today I'm bounding myself to the man I love for the rest of my life, and dad won't even come… I get it, okay? He thinks I'm making one mistake after another… he thinks Sandy is not good enough… this is not what he wanted for me… but you know what? Big deal! This is still my wedding, I'm still his daughter and he should be here!" Christine could see how mad her daughter was, she understood, she was as mad as her. She knew Caleb hated Sandy Cohen, Kirsten was right about that, and as he chose to stay in Singapore instead of assisting Kirsten's wedding with some bogus excuse Christine knew he was making up, he claimed that after his daughter regained her senses, divorced the little Jewish brat and got married to a real man, as Caleb had put it, he would go and he would give her away._

_Christine knew where all of this was coming from… Kirsten always thought Hailey was Caleb's favourite kid, she thought her father could find no pride in her actions no matter what she did… she was wrong. Christine knew Caleb's actions were coming from deep hurt… the pain of losing his perfect beautiful daughter when she chose to move to Berkeley, to lead a new life, going against her father's will for the first time in her life… Caleb freaked out, he all but disowned Kirsten, because it hurt him that she would turn her back on the life he had created for her, and when Kirsten introduced them to the dorky boy from New York with a big mouth and massive eyebrows who had stolen her heart, Caleb made himself quite clear: she couldn't have it both ways, it was either Sandy or him. Christine knew that Caleb's heart was broken when Kirsten chose Sandy. And while she understood her husband, she didn't justify him. This was still their daughter, his little girl, and he should give her away on her wedding day._

_"You're right, princess." Christine smiled sadly "I can't say a thing that will make you feel better… you're right, Caleb should be here, he's making the biggest mistake of his life and deep down he knows it." Kirsten had her gaze fixed in the floor, listening to her mother's voice "I know it's hard to believe this now, sweetheart… but trust me, as much as he's hurting you right now, as much as he is tainting this day for you, down the line, you're going to have a lifetime of happiness with your Sandy and your father will regret every single day not been here."_

_"Right, mom." Kirsten snorted._

_"No… Kirsten, listen to me. Your dad loves you, he has dreamed of this day as much as you have, and he'll never forgive himself for causing this pain to you." Christine knew Kirsten did not quite believe her, but she knew her husband. Missing Kirsten's wedding would hunt him until his last breath. But this was not the time, not anymore, today was her baby's wedding and she deserved to smile "Hey, kid…" she lifted Kirsten's chin "Do you love your boy?" she smiled._

_"Yes… I love him." Kirsten's face broke into a grin through her tears._

_"So… your dad is a jackass," Christine was relieved to listen to Kirsten's laugh "what the hell? Right? You still have a damn fine young mind dying to make you his wife, who is probably about to burst a vein if you don't show up soon… do you still want to do this? Do you still want to marry Sandy?"_

_"I don't think I've ever wanted anything more in my life."_

_"Good… then let's dry these tears… and concentrate on how you're the most beautiful bride in the world and how happy you're going to be with Sandy, alright?"_

_"Yeah…" Kirsten sat down on a chair while her mother redid her makeup and fussed with her hair and dress "Mom…" she voiced timidly._

_"Yes, baby?"_

_"Thanks… for everything… accepting him… us…been here."_

_"Honey, there's nowhere else in the world I would rather be."_

_Once Kirsten was ready, Christine nodded for her to stand up and planted a kiss in her daughter's cheek._

_"Honey…" Christine started asking "Would you rather I walked you…?"_

_"No." Kirsten's face turned to stone as she answered "I love you for been here, but you're the mother of the bride… I want you to play that part… I can walk myself down the aisle… I know how to take care of myself and do things on my own."_

_"I know, sweetie. And I'm so proud of you. And I love you."_

_"I love you too, mom." Christine gave her one last smile before turning "I'll tell everyone you're ready, wait for your cue." She stopped by the doorframe before stopping, turning one more time with tears threatening to fall "I can't believe the next time I talk to my baby girl she's going to be Mrs. Kirsten Cohen…" Christine left then, leaving her daughter with a smile on her face._

Once Sandy and Kirsten came out of the water, they laid by the pool, Kirsten in her husband's arms, taking the sun. They were pretty content, just the tow of us, holding each other.

"This is nice." Sandy mumbled in her hair.

"Yeah. When was the last time we got to just hang out, lay down by the pool without getting called from work?"

"Or someone complaining about something the boys did?"

"Or the noopsies striding into the house?"

"Or Seth commenting on how disgusting all this cuddling among the elderly is?"

"Who are you calling elderly?!" Kirsten asked laughing.

"Don't worry, grandma… I still think you're hot!" Sandy laughed kissing her neck.

"Grandma?! Oh… no, no way, I'm way too young to be a grandma!"

"Oh, honey…" Sandy laughed.

"I mean it, Sandy. I'm not ready to be a grandma yet!" Kirsten noticed Sandy was just smiling his annoying knowing smile "What?" she asked.

"What what?" Sandy asked caressing her hair with one hand and hugging her waist with the other.

"You're acting superior. What are you laughing about?"

"Me? Nothing!"

"Spit it out, Cohen."

"Okay… okay… it's just the whole 'I'm not ready thing'…"

"Yeah?"

"That's exactly what you said the first time we talked about having a baby." Kirsten froze for a second. Sandy was right; those were her exact words when two months into their marriage Sandy had asked her how she felt about having a baby.

"Oh… right." She smiled.

"I just think you're a bit commitment shy." He teased her.

"I'm not…!"

"Come on, honey. Admit it! All those years ago, you almost made a run for it when I mentioned the word 'baby'!" he was laughing at her now, Kirsten's cheeks were red and she had turned into his arms to face him.

"That's not true!"

"You dropped a dish!"

"It slipped!"

"Come on, admit it… you were scared out of your mind when I asked you if you wanted to have a baby…"

"Okay…" Kirsten knew when she was defeated "In my defence, we were barely married, I was twenty-one, you were just starting in your career and we still lived in a mail truck…"

"Right…"

"I wasn't even out of college yet…" Sandy was smiling to himself; patting Kirsten's head as he listened to all the excuses he had heard a hundred times "we were still children ourselves."

"Right, honey. That's why I was a gentleman, accepted your reasons and reached an agreement about waiting two years before having a baby."

"Yes, Sandy, you were such a gentleman." Kirsten smiled, caressing his cheek "That's why, even though we didn't know it at the time, I was already pregnant with Seth." She laughed and he joined her.

"That has nothing to do with me been a gentleman." He laughed as he kissed her in the lips.

"Of course, Sandy… I mean, it's not like we conceived Seth because you threw me into the bed and ripped off my clothes…"

"Okay, okay…" Sandy laughed hugging her "I said I was a gentleman not a monk. It still turned out alright, didn't it?" he hugged her again.

"You're right." She smiled, laying her head on his shoulder "Would've saved us a four-hour-long conversation if we had known, though."

"You were ready." He whispered.

"No… YOU were ready. I was trying to catch up."

"You're a wonderful mother, Kirsten." He said seriously this time. He knew Kirsten often doubted her abilities as a mother and that she was terrified of making a huge mistake that would hurt her child… her children, even though she had been a mother for over sixteen years.

"I do what I can, but I had to work hard on it, you're a natural, Sandy."

"You're better than you think. Seth knows you love him. Ryan knows you love him. What else could a boy want from his mother?"

"I don't know… I do love our boys, Sandy."

"I know."

"And I love you."

"I know that, too." He smiled cockily.

"Still, we were too young when we had Seth."

"Yeah, we were." Sandy smiled, remembering their first days of parenthood, suddenly grateful to the skies that Seth had survived his inexperienced and overly nervous parents.

_Kirsten sat on the small bed she shared with her husband, suddenly feeling dizzy._

_How the hell had this happened?_

_They were careful._

_Well… they tried to be careful… most of the time, anyway._

_She was not ready, they had already had this conversation and she had managed to convince Sandy she was just not ready to be a mother._

_This was what irony was all about, she guessed._

_She knew without a doubt she was not ready for this, she couldn't even begin to image how to deal with the situation… sure, Sandy would be happy out of his mind, but he only saw that he was going to be a daddy, not everything that came attached with a baby. Still, as scared as she was, she knew she was having this baby._

_She had already given up on one child. She didn't regret it, though. She had been fifteen, way too young to deal with been a mother. The memory pained her, thought, but she still knew she would do it again. If she hadn't had that abortion, she would be Mrs. Jimmy Cooper now, she would be like every single other noopsie, she wouldn't be in college and she wouldn't be with Sandy. And the child would probably be completely scarred; having a teenage mother that would've felt trapped in a life she didn't want. She never told her parents. She never told Jimmy. She made the call on her own, and she didn't regret._

_This was different, though. She wasn't sure about motherhood yet, she was in college and Sandy barely made any money. Her waitressing job wasn't a goldmine either, and she certainly couldn't keep up with a job, school and a pregnancy, it was lousy timing. Yet she knew she would have this baby, because this was Sandy's baby, her family. She brought a shaking had to her midriff, imagining what a baby of Sandy would look like… she hopped it was a boy, even though she knew she should just wish it to were healthy, but she just wanted to have a baby boy that took after her wonderful husband. For the first time since taking the pregnancy test she allowed herself to smile as she lay back in the bed, her hand still on her torso, imagining she could feel the baby's movements within her body._

_She smiled and sat back down on the bed as she felt Sandy's key opening the door. Showtime._

_"Hey, honey." Sandy smiled as he entered the truck. Kirsten could tell he was tired after a long day at work. She had skipped work and school that day, she woke up feeling really sick and Sandy practically forced her to stay in bed. What Sandy didn't know was that she had been sick all week, today she just wasn't able to hide it from her husband "Are you feeling better?" Sandy asked as he sat in the bed and cradled Kirsten to his lap. She accepted his embrace grateful, trying to figure the best way to break the news to him._

_"A bit." She answered honestly. 'Morning sickness' was pretty much an euphemism as far as she was concerned. She was sick whenever she woke up, ate, stood up or pretty much breathed. She had been pretty dizzy all day too, but wasn't sure if it was out of excitement or the pregnancy._

_"Really?" she smiled as Sandy brought his hand to her forehead, concern in his eyes. He was so sweet and caring. She just loved him so damn much._

_"Yeah… it's okay honey…" she took his hand from her forehead and held it in both of hers._

_"Maybe I should just call the doctor…" he motioned to stand from the bed but she stopped him._

_"No, Sandy, wait! Don't!" she knew she had a silly smile on her face, which was probably confusing Sandy._

_"Are you sure? You do look a little pale, honey."_

_You would too after throwing up all day, she thought, but opted to smile._

_"Sandy, I need you to please, sit down, and calmly listen to me." She could see he was getting really concerned, but she needed him to calm down before telling him._

_"What is it?"_

_"Okay… I have no idea how to say this… the thing is… well…" why was she having problems telling him? He was dying to have a baby! He had already told her that! He was going to be happy about this baby!_

_"Honey, you're scaring me. If you need to tell me something about your health, please just do it, before I lose my mind."_

_"I'm pregnant." She blurted out. She didn't intent to just say it, but somehow it happened. She smiled realizing she could say pretty much the same thing about her pregnancy. Sandy was saying nothing, though, and Kirsten was starting to get concerned herself. Didn't a week ago he was trying to convince her they were ready to have a kid? "Sandy…" she whispered, worry all over her face "Please, say something… anything." Sandy raised his eyes to meet her._

_"Pregnant?" she just nodded nervously "I thought… I thought we were waiting a couple of years…"_

_"Yeah, seems the baby wasn't paying attention to that conversation." She smiled shyly as she placed her hand on her flat stomach. Sandy's eyes followed her hand, his brain trying to catch up with the situation… Kirsten was pregnant… his wife was pregnant… in that flat stomach she was just now shielding protectively with her hand was a baby… a little boy or a little girl that was half him and half her, a little child that could be as beautiful as her… his baby with the most amazing woman in the universe. Sandy couldn't help the smile that crept into his face._

_"We're going to have a baby?" he asked slowly, smiling broadly now to Kirsten's relief. She just nodded, feeling tears in the burst to escape from her eyes. They finally fall when Sandy's hand made its slow way to her stomach, laying it on top of hers over their child. Sandy gave her a last smile before pulling her along with himself to the bed, kissing her with such love and passion that she had to allow the tears to fall freely "I love you so much… both of you!" he laughed in between kissed._

_"We love you too." She laughed as well, feeling weird about using the plural. When the kisses stopped, she was laying down, her back on the bed, while he propped himself over his shoulder by her side. With one hand he caressed her hair and with the other he lifted her top so he could stare at her midriff._

_"So… there's a baby in there?" he grinned as he laid his hand over her stomach._

_"Or a puppy." She teased him._

_"Ha ha." He mocked "Hey… you're crying…" he was concerned as he noticed her tears._

_"Happy tears… hormones raging…"_

_"These should be very interesting months." He teased her back. She smiled, but she noticed his face growing more sombre as he kept staring at her bellybutton. He lifted his gaze back to meet her eyes "Are you feeling okay?"_

_"I have been sick all day." She decided he deserved the whole truth, he was the father of her baby after all "Actually all week… I know, I know, I should have told you. I'm sorry; I figured I had a stomach bug or something."_

_"Don't call our baby a bug, honey."_

_"Very funny. Morning sickness sucks, also I'm a bit dizzy sometimes, but that's about it."_

_"Have you seen your gynaecologist yet?"_

_"No."_

_"I'm making an appointment, we can go tomorrow."_

_"You don't have to come with me."_

_"I'm coming with you."_

_"Thanks." She smiled gratefully. In truth, she was terrified of dealing with the whole thing alone. He smiled back at her._

_"Kirsten… do you want to have this baby?"_

_"What?" she asked, a little taking aback._

_"Last week… you felt you weren't ready… I don't want to force you to anything; I want you to be happy…"_

_"I am, Sandy!" she took his hand from her torso "I am. I… I still think I'm not ready, I'm terrified of screwing up, I have no idea how to deal with any of this… but I know this is our baby and I love him… I'm just going to really need your help with this… okay?"_

_"Oh, honey, you know I'm going to be there for you the whole way!" he kissed her forehead to make his point "I want to be there for everything, morning sickness, mood swings, cravings, doctor appointments, childbirth… I know this is pretty much out of my hands, but I want you to be able to lean on me for all of this, okay?"_

_"Okay." She smiled, falling in love with him all over again._

_"Also… I want you to resign your job…" he raised his hand when he saw she was about to protest "Honey, this isn't a macho thing… you can't be on your feet all day, it's not good for either you or the baby, and you won't be able to clean tables once you start showing… plus, it's going to be too much stress and I think you should rather concentrate on our baby and finishing college…"_

_"I know… you're right… I figured I can finish this semester, take the next one off to actually have the baby and just focus on him for a couple of months, then go back… what are you smiling about?"_

_"You keep saying 'him'." She smiled back at him, he was right "Let me figure out the money… you just take care of yourself and our kid. Also, we should start looking for a house."_

_"What? Sandy…"_

_"Kirsten, this is okay for us, but don't you want something better for our baby?" she had to admit she had trepidations about raising her child in a truck, too._

_"Yeah." She admitted "But how are we going to pay for a house?"_

_"We'll find a way… something small, for the three of us."_

_"Okay."_

_"Okay. And honey?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"Thank you."_

_"You too." She smiled as he leaned over to capture her lips with his own._


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, Fox does. I'm using spoilers from the first season about Kirsten and Sandy's youth.

Chapter III

"Where do you think the boys are?" Kirsten asked.

"As far as they're not here I'm cool. Pass me more charcoal, honey." Sandy was currently preoccupied with the grill, cooking lunch for Kirsten and himself. Kirsten was sitting on the table next to the grill, doing nothing of the actual cooking and passing Sandy the occasional item whenever he asked.

"I'm been serious, Sandy." She commented passing him a small bag with charcoal.

"Me too!"

"Sandy…"

"Come on, Kirsten, this is our day, remember? Kirsten and Sandy, as people! Not Seth's and Ryan's parents, or Caleb Nichol's daughter, Sophie Cohen's son, Newport Group's Head of Residential Development, or highly-paid lawyer of the more boring firm in all of California… just you and me."

"I know and I love that it's just you and me. But I have to admit that, while it's a LOT of fun to wake them up and all, I feel a bit guilty about kicking them out of the house for the day."

"I feel kinda guilty too…" Sandy admitted "But see it this way: our boys? I love them, but they're like piranhas! Specially the one with the dark hair! If they had to run us over with our own cars to have the house alone for them and their girlfriends, they would."

"Sandy…" Kirsten laughed "You're so mean."

"I'm just trying to put a smile on that gorgeous face of yours." He turned from the grill to face her and plant a kiss in her lips.

"You always do." She whispered, laying her forehead against his once the kiss ended.

"Then I'm doing my job. And don't worry about the boys, Seth knows the drill, Ryan will understand… I mean, the poor kid got Christmukkah, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he has a fine mind for understanding the bizarre."

"See?" Sandy laughed. He knew both him and Kirsten were thinking the same: how easy it would be to exchange the word "bizarre" for "Seth". Whatever they called it, Ryan got it "He took your credit card or mine this year?"

"Mine. Left it at the table. I also put a block to how much he can spend; I don't want him bringing home a yacht or something."

"That's our kid!" both smiled knowingly.

"Yeah, they're probably with Summer and Marissa now."

"Of course they are. They're my boys! They're big with the ladies."

"Right! That's you baby, Sanford Cohen, womanizer!" Kirsten was laughing really hard now, a fact Sandy appreciated as much as been called Sanford.

"You about done?"

"Why?" she replied making a sexy voice "What do you have in mind for me, Don Juan?"

"Honey, don't act hot if you're going to laugh at me." Sandy smiled.

"Big with the ladies…" Kirsten laughed again, much to Sandy's chagrin.

"Well, I did get the hottest girl in Berkley." He reminded her.

"When we met I was wasted."

"And I was high, but it was still love at first sight, wasn't it?" he teased, embracing her.

"I guess… I was not THAT drunk." She conceded.

"Well, I WAS that high… otherwise I would've never come up with the nerve to ask you out at all."

"You needed to come up with nerve to ask me out?" she asked, a little confused.

"I've told you that before!"

"I thought you were joking… you acted so confident and all… you were frightened to ask me out? Really? Why?"

"Honey, I was terrified to ask you out! In case you haven't noticed, you're way, WAY out of my league."

"That's not true!" she complained.

"Come on, Kirsten… everyone thought you had lost your mind… dating the poor guy from the Bronx with the crazy eyebrows and silly grin… moving in his mail truck… and then to actually marry me and have my son… it just never made sense to them."

"Do you care about it making sense to them?" Kirsten asked seriously.

"No. I only care about it making sense to us."

"Good, because I don't care either." Kirsten kissed him in the lips slowly, enjoying his closeness, his arms around her waist, a hand on her back, his tongue dancing with hers.

"I love you." Sandy breathed when they parted for air.

"I love you too… and Sandy?"

"Yeah?"

"I was never out of your league… you were the best thing to ever happen to me, you still are. And I happen to think you're sexy as hell." She smiled.

He smiled back at her. He knew they never made sense to many people, the gorgeous heiress from Newport and Sandy Cohen? She could have anyone, the hottest guys in school, but she chose him. She had once told him she wanted to be with him because he was smart, tender, polite, sweet, because he made her laugh and he forced her to constantly revaluate herself, because she had never met someone who could make her shiver just by looking into her eyes. And also, she had told him she thought he was one of the most attractive men she had ever met, and that she was crazy about him. And Sandy was proud that after eighteen years and two sons, she still felt the same way about him, as her lips tracing his neck told him.

_"Dude!__ This is like… so much fun!" Sandy Cohen rolled his eyes at the young man standing by his side and laughing like a maniac._

_"Yeah, tones of fun." __Sandy__ muttered. His friend Kenny had dragged him to a bar, promising him the time of his life. Turned out Kenny was meeting a guy from the art program at Berkeley who he had met at a party a couple of weeks back for a bet over a pool game. Kenny and Sandy were playing against this guy, Paul, and his friend Travis. At first they were doing fine, but when the drinks and weed starting coming, Kenny had gotten quite high; Sandy, on the other hand, could hold up better, watching as Paul made his shoot while taking a sip of beer, his roll of marihuana in his other hand._

_"I think, gentlemen," Paul addressed them "that you're really embarrassing all the lawyers to ever grace the Earth."_

_"Oh, come on, Paul! I think we're probably embarrassing only those in __California__!" __Sandy__ joked. He and Paul were getting along quite well; Travis was more the silent type._

_"Whatever dude, you're still losing five-hundred bucks on the table."_

_"Painfully aware of that, man."__Sandy__ answered._

_"So where did you get the weed?" Kenny asked a little too loudly "It's good!" he started laughing again._

_"He's stoned." Travis commented._

_"And drunk, should be a hell of a hang-over." Paul laughed. As the waitress came, Paul handed her an empty cup "Thanks, Colleen. Can you please tell the bartender to make it a double and just the way I like them?" he winked as Colleen rolled her eyes and left._

_"Your turn, Kenny.__ Try not to make a hole in the table." __Sandy__ advised. They kept playing for about ten minutes, Sandy and Kenny still losing. Paul was about to make his shot when a small hand holding a drink materialized in front of his face._

_"Hey! About time!" he laughed while he took the drink and got swatted in the arm "Ouch! What was that for?"_

_"What have I told you about annoying Colleen and customized drinks?" __Sandy__ was speechless when the owner of the small hand came into view. She was the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen. Her hair was long and blond, reaching to her waist. Her eyes were blue and her face quite soft and elegant. Her body was amazing too, and he could see it quite well considering her outfit. She was wearing a pair of jeans that looked like they were painted over her body, and a blue tight top that reached up a little whenever she moved, allowing him sight of the piercing in her bellybutton. He was speechless, especially when Paul laughed and embraced her waist with his arm, pulling her to his chest._

_Damn, she was taken._

_"Come on, gorgeous, don't be mad. Your shift's over?"_

_"Yeah, Tag was sick so I had to cover up for him in the bar."_

_"You do make great drinks…"_

_"Yeah, whatever.__ Hey Travis!" the blonde girl broke away from Paul's arms and went to hug briefly Travis._

_"Right, I haven't introduced you yet! Sorry, but I AM kinda rude. Come here, kid." Paul reached for the girl, while __Sandy__ couldn't help but think she looked nothing like a kid "Kirsten, these are Kenny Meyers," Paul made a break to point to Kenny who was looking quite interested in the contents of his glass "he's kind of out of it, though, and this is Sandy Cohen. This is my roommate, Kirsten Nichol." Sandy was at his feet at once, and offered his hand to Kirsten, she took it and he could swear he felt a bolt of electricity, knowing full well how cliché that sounded._

_"Sandy?" she asked, smiling "I don't think I've ever heard of a guy named __Sandy__."_

_"Actually, __Sandy__'s short for my real name."_

_"And that would be?"_

_"__Sanford__."_

_"Oh…"_

_"Yeah, I know. Never forgave my parents for it." He gave her a charming smile while she laughed softly. She had the sweetest laughter ever, __Sandy__ thought completely mesmerized. He realized he was still holding her hand and let go; she just smiled and turned to ask Paul how was the game so far._

_One hour later they were still playing, although __Sandy__'s attention was no longer on the game. Kirsten was sitting by a nearby chair drinking a beer and occasionally taking a smoke from Paul's roll. __Sandy__ was desperate to strike a conversation with her, but Paul was constantly at her side. That was probably for the better, he reminded himself, this girl is taken, Paul keeps touching her and they have kissed already once… why couldn't he help but stare at her?_

_"Hey." He had been so preoccupied with his thoughts he didn't noticed Kirsten was standing next to him now. He had been standing by the beers._

_"Hey." Well, he wanted to talk to her, now he had his chance "What's up?" Real smooth, Cohen, he thought to himself._

_"Not much. Waiting for the macho thing to wear off so I can go home. Paul wants me as a witness to your downfall."_

_"The macho thing?"___

_"You know, your pool game."_

_"Why do you think this is a macho thing?"_

_"Come on! You have been playing for like two hours already, you're betting 500 bucks, and you keep taking digs at each other."_

_"That's just for fun." __Sandy__ defended himself._

_"Ok, then why don't you just call the whole thing off?" she asked, a glint in her eyes. __Sandy__ noticed right away she already knew his answer._

_"I… can't…"_

_"Why?"_

_"Because…."_

_"Because you don't want to lose."___

_"Well, that's hardly a macho thing! I'm just competitive!"_

_"Maybe… but if you were playing me, you wouldn't be as desperate to win as you are playing Paul."_

_"If I was playing you…" __Sandy__ realized he had no way to finish the sentence, not a gentlemanly way, anyhow. He looked curiously at her. A minute ago there was nothing he wanted more than to rip her clothes off, now there was nothing he wanted more than to talk to her, listen to what she had to say, be challenged by her "I guess it is different between guys."_

_"Don't take it the wrong way," she smiled "it's just nature. Males had to square off all the time for their mates, their lands; some of it stays on your blood. You see a guy, you have to measure yourself with him right away, and of course, come on top."_

_"Aren't women competitive as well?"_

_"Oh yeah, but there's a lot more of backstabbing there."__ She laughed and he couldn't help but join her._

_"Let me guess, psychology?"_

_"Art History, actually."___

_"Really?__ There's were you met Paul?"_

_"We had a painting class together, one of my electives."_

_"And how long have you two been together?" he asked nonchalantly._

_"We're not." She laughed, as he stared at her in shock._

_"But… I mean… you two live together and are like… you know…"_

_"He's my roommate. I don't live at the dorm and I couldn't afford my apartment anymore, so Paul offered me to go live with him. And while I won't deny to have had… you know… we're not like boyfriend and girlfriend or anything, we're just really good friends."_

_"Oh… that's good!" he chirped in way too happily._

_"Is it?" she raised her eyebrow at him._

_"Yeah…" Sandy smiled at her again, coming into his own. The truth is a woman as gorgeous as Kirsten would scare the hell out of him, he wouldn't dare to make a move… but something was different about Kirsten Nichol. She was smart, funny in her own quiet way, gorgeous and sexy… and he was quite high, so he was feeling the rush in his veins "You know, in case some people were interested in you been free…"_

_"Some people?"___

_"Yeah… some people could, maybe sometime, ask you out…"_

_"And where could I find these people?" oh my god, she was flirting back! Sandy was doing his best not to grin like an idiot, but she was clearly interested._

_"I don't…"_

_"Hey gorgeous!"__Sandy__ at Kirsten turned to face the person intruding in their conversation. Kenny was still quite drunk and staring over at Kirsten._

_"Kenny…" __Sandy__ warned._

_"What? Come on man! I'm just saying she looks good. You're really fine, baby."_

_"That's nice." Kirsten muttered under her breath._

_"Buddy, why don't you join the guys…?"_

_"No, its okay __Sandy__, I'm just going to stay here and hung out with Kirsten." Kenny made a circle past Sandy and headed for Kirsten, who was staring at him a little shocked, not quite sure about what to do._

_"Kenny…"_

_"Hey pretty girl, why don't you give me a kiss…" Kenny made a move to kiss Kirsten, prompting her to let out a small shriek as she stepped back. Sandy took the moment to block Kenny's way again, putting himself between them._

_"You come near her and I swear I'm kicking your ass, Kenny."_

_"Come on man!"_

_"I mean it Kenny, back off!"_

_"What the hell is going on?" Paul demanded as he and Travis run to them._

_"Geez, man…" Kenny muttered._

_"Is he bothering you?" Travis asked Kirsten._

_"I… I…" Sandy could see she was clearly more nervous, following her gaze, he realized she was staring at Paul and seemed anxious about what he could do._

_"You asshole…" Paul made a go towards Kenny, preparing to beat him up._

_"Paul, no!"__ Kirsten advanced towards him "He didn't mean a thing, he's wasted."_

_"Are you okay?" Paul asked worriedly._

_"Yeah, __Sandy__ already took care of it, I'm okay." Paul gave Sandy a piercing look, then he looked back at Kirsten._

_"We're leaving, now."_

_"Paul, you promised to swing by Zoey's place." She reminded him._

_"She'll understand."_

_"No way, Paul, I can go on my own."_

_"Travis, could…?" Paul started._

_"I don't need a bloody babysitter." Kirsten declared, annoyed._

_"I could take you." __Sandy__ addressed Kirsten, causing surprised stares around him._

_"You don't have to…"_

_"I know, but a beautiful girl shouldn't walk by herself at night. Come on; let me take you home, I'll be a gentleman." Kirsten stared at him for a moment, trying to decide._

_"Ok… only if it isn't too much of a bother."_

_"Not at all… you can keep explaining to me how men are like Neanderthals on our way." She smiled at him._

_"Let's go."_

_"Okay, give me a second." __Sandy__ made his way towards Paul "Man, I'm sorry."_

_"Not your fault, but next time leave this guy at home."_

_"Promise."___

_"Travis will drop him by the campus."_

_"Good."_

_"You better be a gentleman with her." Paul warned._

_"I AM a gentleman."_

_"I know, just had to get it out of my chest. She freaks out when these things happen… usually everyone here behaves quite well, they know her and all. When drunks try something… she's just not used to it… so, keep that in mind. Try to get her to relax."_

_"I promise. See you around."_

_"See you around."_

_Sandy walked back to Kirsten, she was waiting for him, staring at her shoes._

_"You okay?" he asked._

_"Kinda tired.__ Ready?"_

_"Of course… so," __Sandy__ started walking, casually dropping his hand around her shoulders. He smiled inwardly when he realized she was not pulling away "where are you from?"_

"These are so good!" Kirsten took another bite at her hamburger "I'm not eating until next Christmukkah, but these are amazing."

"Good. You can thank the cook later." She laughed at his silly joke; he was taking a zip of his beer.

"This is great."

"Yeah, it is. So simple… hamburger and beer, a boy and a girl…"

"Seth would have some commentary about you addressing us as boy and girl."

"I know he would! That's why we kicked him out!"

"That's mean. You know what we're missing, though? A pool table."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you know, keep embarrassing the lawyers of California." Kirsten laughed at his feigned offended attitude. In truth, the pool table had been kind of a joke between them; they'd met when they were in college, in a bar, he was playing pool with a couple of Kirsten's friends. He had walked her home that night and after giving her a peck in the cheek before leaving, he asked her on a date. The next night he fixed them dinner in his small apartment; been that his recourses were limited, he had to settle for hamburgers and beer. During their conversation the night before she had told him she was from Newport Beach, so he was afraid she would be disappointed. Instead, she had loved it; they had lain on the rug, talking for hours, throwing ketchup at each other, sharing personal stories. That night, Kirsten had spent the night; before anything happened, thought, Sandy had made her promise this was not just a one-night stand, he had made her promise there would be something else, a chance to see what was happening between them. And when morning came, she was still in his bed and still in his arms. He then had take her to her class, picked her up for lunch and never ever let her go again. And when they had hanged out at the bar with their friends, she would always be in the side of her friends in the art program, he with his buddies of law school, and Kirsten's side would inevitably come on top.

"We were not that bad!"

"You sucked, Sandy!"

"That's not true! I think Paul kept handing us weed so we would be too deep in it to see the table straight."

"We were smoking too and could actually play the game."

"Well… well… we…"

"Yeah?"

"We sucked big time!" Sandy laugh, cleaning a spot of mayonnaise she had in the corner of her lips with a napkin.

"That's all I'm saying."

"Have you heard from them?" Sandy asked, suddenly wistfully "Paul? Zoey? Travis? Wyatt? Whatever happened to those guys?"

"Paul e-mails me from time to time… he and Zoey got divorced."

"Really? God! I thought those two were going to make it."

"I know, me too." She replied, a little sadly "How does it come down to that, Sandy?"

"Down to what?"

"You know what I mean! One day, you see this person and you just can't imagine your life without him or her… you fall in love, get married, become parents together… and one day you can't even stay near each other… I just don't get it."

"Good." Sandy answered seriously, taking her hand in his "You shouldn't get it. I don't want you to get it."

"I don't mean it as applied to us." She reassured him.

"I know. I just had to make sure. We lucked out, honey… what can I tell you? We were lucky, the one rare marriage that makes the distance…"

"No, we're not lucky." She said, very determined.

"Gee, honey, thanks, I love you too." He laughed sarcastically.

"Come on Sandy!" she smacked him lightly in the arm "We didn't leave it to luck; we fought for it… for this. It required work, it was not always easy… to this day, and we have to make an effort sometimes…"

"You're right… but the fact remains, it's worth the effort… I want to be with you until my last breath…"

"Me too."

"Good… now, what do you say we go 'work at it' in the bedroom?" he gave her a seductive smile as he motion for her to stand up and follow him.


End file.
